


At first sight

by Dahlia_Rose_83



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alaric is his teacher, Damon is a High School student, F/M, M/M, season 1 AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2019-01-04 11:24:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12167907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dahlia_Rose_83/pseuds/Dahlia_Rose_83
Summary: Damon Salvatore hates school and is about to drop out when he meets his new history teacher and everything changes.





	At first sight

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written originally in German upon a prompt of one of my German readers. The prompt was: Damon wasn’t much older than Stefan when Katherine turned them, so he’s going to High School as well. He meets Alaric and they fall in love. Damon never turned Isobel, but the rest of the back-story is pretty much the same.

At first sight

Damon sat in the last row as usual, once again completely ignoring his teacher. Not for the first time he wondered why he was doing this to himself every day. School was just a waste of time. It wasn’t like he actually needed to graduate high school. He could just compel himself the necessary papers if he wanted. Even if he’d never need them. He wasn’t here because he needed to be. Because he wanted to fit in or hold up appearances. Or because he enjoyed being surrounded by dim-witted teenagers all the time. No, he was only here for his younger brother, who did want to fit in and hold up appearances. And who actually seemed to enjoy high school, weird as it was.

A couple of month ago Damon had become aware that Stefan had returned to Mystic Falls and was posing as a normal high school student. The older one had decided to try once again to reconcile with his brother. He missed Stefan. A lot more than he wanted to admit. Over the last few decades he had tried to make things right a few times. But always without success. 

He had regretted the hard words he had said to Stefan right after their turning pretty soon. Damon had always been rash and quite temperamental. Especially when he was hurt. And turning into a vampire had only heightened those attributes. But back then he hadn’t known that. Hadn’t been prepared for his feelings to spiral out of control like that. He had drunk Katherine’s blood willingly and even begged her to turn him, but he hadn’t really known what he was getting himself into.

When he’d calmed down it had already been too late. Stefan had been angry and high on blood, slipping into his first ripper phase. Trying to talk to him had only made things worse. They had fought and said a lot of things they didn’t mean. A little while later they had parted ways and hadn’t seen each other for years. Whenever they had met after that, they had only ended up fighting again, Damon’s good intentions backfiring more often than not, leaving Stefan in an even worse state.

There were days when Damon almost hated Katherine for doing this to them. After transitioning it had taken him a few days to fully realize how often she had compelled him. How often she had lied to him. Sometimes he wondered if she had only played with both of them. She hadn’t prepared them for their new life. That much was for sure. But it didn’t really matter anymore. Katherine was dead. Had been dead for 145 years now. They had managed without her.

Okay, at first it had been hard. Having to figure everything out on his own. Learning by doing and fucking up more than once. But now Damon loved being a vampire. He reveled in his power and cherished his eternal youth. Being estranged from his baby brother was the only regret he had. It was the reason he had come back to Mystic Falls as well. The reason he had moved into the boarding house, now run by their uncle Zach – in reality their many times great-grand-nephew Zach – and was now attending the local high school.

Of course he had known that it wouldn’t be easy. That Stefan wouldn’t just forgive and forget. Too much had happened over the last decades. But he had decided not to give up this time. He had sworn to himself that he would prove to Stefan that he was still his brother. That he was still worth loving and not the hopelessly evil monster Stefan thought him to be. He would make things right again. But he couldn’t have guessed that Stefan’s new girlfriend would look exactly like Katherine.

Elena Gilbert really was a perfect copy of Katherine. At least concerning her appearance, because she seemed a lot less egoistic than her vampire doppelganger. Damon couldn’t understand what his brother saw in her. How Stefan could love this copy, this weird look-a-like. But that didn’t stop him from hitting on Elena as well, aggravating Stefan in the process. The fact that she always brushed Damon off and seemed completely faithful to the younger Salvatore only made matters worse. And he didn’t even want her, for god’s sake. She was only a look-a-like of the girl he had loved over a hundred years ago.

The bell was signaling the end of today’s lesson and Damon sighed in relief. Finally. He grabbed his bag and left the classroom without a glance at one of the other kids. Maybe he should just quit school. Being here did nothing to help him win Stefan back. It only grated on his nerves. He didn’t care what people thought about him anyways. They were already whispering behind his back when they thought he couldn’t hear them. Why not give them more to gossip about? 

On the way to his locker he passed Elena, who was probably waiting for his brother. He winked at her suggestively, grinning at her eye-roll. Flirting with the brunette was just a reflex. It happened without him intending to. He really didn’t mean anything by doing it and couldn’t even tell why he still did it. Habit maybe. He had always loved to rile up Stefan and nothing worked as well as flirting with his girlfriend. The vampire walked on quickly however, when he noticed Bonnie standing beside Elena, giving him a dark look. The last thing he needed was for the little witch to give him an aneurysm in the middle of the hallway. Bonnie hated him and used every chance to hit him with her witchy powers.

Thanks to his hasty departure he didn’t really look where he was going and ended up colliding with someone. Damon was about to start shouting at whoever he had knocked into, when he looked up and the angry words got stuck in his throat. The guy was tall, dark-blonde and handsome, with blue eyes, a slight stubble and an awkward smile.   
“Sorry, didn’t look where I was going. I was trying to find the principal’s office.“ he explained. Damon blinked at him stupidly for a few seconds, before pointing down the hallway. “Around the corner. Second door on the left.“ The guy thanked him and headed in that direction.

Damon stared after him in wonder, surprised at his own speechlessness. Usually he always found a witty comeback or a snide remark, but the stranger had caught him totally off guard. Who was he?

When the dark-haired vampire turned back around he almost flinched in shock. “Damn it, Barbie! I’ve told you a hundred times not to sneak up on me like that!” he snapped, but Caroline looked unimpressed.   
“Your own fault. You taught me how to do that.“ she pointed out.

He only rolled his eyes and glanced over his shoulder, but the blond guy had long since disappeared. “Alaric Saltzman.“ Caroline muttered, causing him to give her a questioning look. “His name is Alaric Saltzman. He’s the new history teacher. Born in Boston, used to work at Duke university up until now. He’s 27 years old, Aquarius and divorced since last year.“ the blonde let him know. Damon tried not to show how impressed he was. He had no idea how she always got the information.

“He’s kinda hot, don’t you think?” she asked rhetorically, before adding: “Give me two more hours and I’ll find out how high your chances are.”   
The older vampire stifled a sigh and once more regretted all the things he had told her. That girl knew way too much about him. He had let quite a few of his secrets slip. The fact that he was bisexual for example. Back then he hadn’t thought much by it, since she was compelled to forget it again anyways.

When he’d first come back to Mystic Falls he had compelled Caroline and used her as his fake-girlfriend for a while (Though it had to be said that she’d practically thrown herself at him on his first day at school and had slept with him quite willingly.). He had used her to spy on Stefan and Elena and sometimes he had fed from her. 

But her mother was the sheriff, who knew quite a bit about vampires. He’d had no desire to face a suspicious sheriff, especially since he’d been a bit careless in the first few weeks and killed a few people – the old history teacher among others. So he had given Caroline some of his blood to heal the bite-marks. He couldn’t have known that she would get run over by a drunk driver one night while walking home.

The impact had broken her neck, but thanks to Damon’s blood in her system she had gotten up and turned into a vampire. Of course by then Stefan and Elena had become aware of all that and had prevented Damon from simply killing her. Though he wasn’t really sure if he would’ve gone through with it at all. But no-one needed to know that. In the end Bonnie had made her a daylight ring and Damon had taught her all she needed to know. She had forgiven him with surprising ease and now they were friends. He’d never understand that girl, but she could be quite useful, so he didn’t question her motives.

“What makes you think I‘m interested?” Damon asked, but Caroline only rolled her eyes.   
“Oh please. The way you were staring at him? I have eyes.“ she snarked. And before he could reply, she had gone into bubbly mode again. “But now I’m late for class. See you after school.“   
And off she was. Damon shook his head and went to his locker, suppressing a smile. He would never admit it out loud, but the little blonde had grown on him.

About an hour later Caroline’s words were proven true. When Damon entered the classroom the cute, blond guy was busy writing his name on the blackboard. Instead of taking a seat in the last row like he usually did, the vampire claimed a front row seat.   
“Hey everyone. My name is Alaric Saltzman. I’m your new history teacher.“ Alaric introduced himself. He glanced in Damon’s direction and returned the vampire’s smile, before looking away again. The vampire smirked and decided that he wouldn’t drop out of school yet.

*****

 

History was Damon’s new favorite subject. He always sat in the front row, did his homework and was the first one to answer a question during lessons. Alaric praised him for his perfect answers and brilliant papers. The fact that their current subject was the American civil war, Alaric’s specialty, worked in the vampire’s favor. Thanks to the fact that he had been a teenager during that time, that he’d fought in the war, he knew quite a lot about it. Alaric was happy to meet someone who shared his enthusiasm for the subject and was always glad to talk to him when they met by chance after school.

He hadn’t picked up yet on the fact that these weren’t chance encounters after all. Even though Damon’s blue Camaro was often found parking right next to his car and the vampire left school late, without having an official excuse for it.

Caroline had told Damon that Mr. Saltzman was bisexual. And while the dark-haired vampire wasn’t sure if she was telling the truth or just making an educated guess (Because really, how could she have found out something like that?), he was willing to believe she was right. The fact that their new history teacher often met his eyes during lessons and not only when he was posing a question seemed prove enough.

Of course Stefan noticed his brother’s sudden enthusiasm as well. He reacted with distrust and even seemed a little concerned when he came home to find Damon doing his homework or when he saw the older one still hanging around at school long after lessons were over. He thought Damon had some sort of diabolical plan. Of course Damon had a plan, but there was nothing really diabolical about it. He only wanted to get to know Alaric better. No matter how. From the very first second on the new teacher had fascinated him and the pull Damon felt towards him was getting steadily stronger.

So he was quite happy to find Alaric sitting at the bar of the Mystic Grill one Friday evening. Without hesitation he sauntered over and took a seat next to his favorite teacher. “Are you seriously grading papers?” he asked incredulous upon seeing the stack of papers on the counter.   
Alaric shrugged a little sheepishly. “Unfortunately very few of my students are as brilliant as you. I usually need a few drinks to get through the papers.” he admitted with a wry smile.

“But it’s Friday evening. Don’t you have a life?” the vampire joked.   
“You mean outside of school? Lately not really.” Alaric replied dryly. “But what about you? Don’t you have something better to do on a Friday evening than talking to your history teacher?” he asked then.   
“I like talking to my history teacher.” Damon countered, blinking at him innocently. He could see the teacher shifting his weight nervously, his heart-rate speeding up a tiny bit. The vampire had to hide a grin. He was affecting Alaric. That much was for sure.

“Nice to know. But I don’t want to keep you away from your friends. Or your girlfriend.” the teacher mumbled, glancing behind Damon.   
The vampire turned to look and found Caroline sitting at a table with Elena, Bonnie and Stefan. She was looking at him and Alaric and most likely listening in on their conversation. He rolled his eyes and turned his back on her. “If you’re talking about Caroline… She’s my ex. That’s totally over. And aside from her no-one seems too keen on my presence.“

It was the truth. Okay, there were quite a few girls (and some boys) who were trying to catch his eye, but aside from Caroline he didn’t have any friends here. Most of the guys were either jealous of his good looks or felt threatened by him somehow. A lot of the girls thought he was a flirt and a bastard and steered clear of him. He probably had to thank Elena and Bonnie for that. Others were avoiding him, because he had compelled them to do just that. Most teenagers were simply grating on his nerves. The fact that he would be 19 forever didn’t mean he still had the mind of a 19-year-old.

“You still seem to get along well with Caroline.” Alaric murmured, having obviously decided to ignore the rest.   
Damon shrugged. “We work better as friends, I guess. She’s okay, when she’s keeping her mouth shut for once.“ he explained, half-turning in his seat to grin at the blonde. She rolled his eyes, proving his suspicion that she was listening. He couldn’t even blame her, since Elena and Bonnie were discussing witch-stuff again. He really wondered how his brother always put up with that.

“Maybe you should go over and save her.” Alaric suggested, interpreting their looks and gestures wrongly. “Would surely be more fun than having yet another discussion about the civil war with your teacher.”   
Damon looked at him. “She doesn’t need saving. And fun, well… we don’t need to talk about the civil war, do we? We could talk about music or movies. Or you could buy me a drink.”

Alaric leaned a little closer. “You’re not 21 yet.” he pointed out.   
“So? I know the barkeeper. He wouldn’t mind.“ Damon whispered, winking at him.   
The teacher chuckled. “That might be the case, but I’m your teacher. And as an authority figure I shouldn’t encourage underage drinking.“ he murmured. Their eyes met and both felt unable to look away. It took some effort for Alaric to rip his gaze away. “Besides… I should really mark these papers.”

“Surely that can wait until Monday? Come on, you can’t leave me here all by my own.” Damon pouted.   
The teacher seemed to war with himself. In the end he gave in with a sigh and started collecting the papers. “Okay, fine. I think I could use a little break. Why don’t we move to one of those tables? But if you want a drink you’ll have to get it yourself. And please, at least pretend to hide it from me, okay?“ he asked.   
“Will do.” the vampire agreed with a grin.

***

Saturday afternoon Alaric was having tea at Jenna Sommer’s house. She was the guardian of Elena and Jeremy Gilbert and they had met shortly after his arrival in Mystic Falls. They had got along really well right from the start and after a rather awkward conversation, in which they had made clear that they weren’t sexually attracted to each other, they had quickly become friends. Jenna wasn’t ready to start dating again, after a nasty break-up with her ex-boyfriend Logan Fell and with all the trouble of taking care of two teenagers all of a sudden. Alaric wasn’t really looking for a new relationship after his failed marriage. Both felt glad to have someone to talk to, without any unnecessary expectations.

“I saw you at the Grill last night.” Jenna let him know, pouring tea for both of them. Alaric actually preferred coffee, but the stuff Jenna passed off for coffee wasn’t drinkable.   
“Really? Why didn’t you say hi?” he asked in surprise. He hadn’t even noticed her.   
“You seemed very engrossed in your conversation with Damon Salvatore. Didn’t want to interrupt.”

Right, Damon. Alaric really hadn’t planned on spending the whole night with the dark-haired youth. Damon was his student after all and he knew how that must look. But he enjoyed talking to him. They had a lot in common, liked the same movies and listened to the same music. And the older Salvatore shared his interest for the civil war. No-one had understood that particular fascination of his so far.

“You looked really cozy in your dark corner, with your heads together like that.“ Jenna murmured. “We were only talking.” Alaric replied, getting defensive. Even if he really wanted to do a lot more with Damon than just talking. The dark-haired youth was smart, with a quick wit and a wry sense of humor and not to forget, he was damn hot. Those eyes alone… And Alaric would even stand a chance. He was all too aware of Damon flirting with him and he couldn’t help but flirt back.

Jenna looked at him with raised eyebrows. “I know it’s a bad idea, okay? He’s my student and therefore off-limits. But I can’t help that I feel drawn to him.” And at least Damon wasn’t underage. 

“Director Weber doesn’t take these things lightly.” Jenna warned. “I know that your predecessor had an affair with one of his female students. As far as I know they were going to suspend him, but then…”

“He got fired instead?” Alaric guessed.   
But Jenna shook her head. “He wasn’t fired. He got killed. In the news they said it was an animal attack.“   
The teacher nodded thoughtfully. He’d heard that there had been some strange animal attacks here in the weeks before he’d arrived. Since his arrival nothing of the sort had happened, at least as far as he knew, so he had forgotten about it. “Wait a minute. You’re not trying to tell me that it wasn’t an animal attack? That someone killed him because of the affair instead?“

Jenna started giggling madly. “No, don’t worry. I didn’t want to imply that Director Weber killed him. I don’t think even he would go that far.” she assured. “And I really don’t want to preach. I think I’m the last person on earth to give pointers on relationships. But… be careful, okay?” she suggested.   
“I’ll be careful.” Alaric promised with a sigh, before changing the subject. He knew that it would be better to stay away from Damon. But that was a lot easier said than done.

***

On Sunday Jenna was busy. But Alaric didn’t really know anyone beside her yet, save for his students and a few parents, who were always trying to criticize his teaching methods. And of course Carol Lockwood, the mayor’s wife, who was always trying to rope him into helping with one of the many charity events in Mystic Falls. But he didn’t feel like sitting around alone at home either, so he decided to have lunch at the Mystic Grill. He took a book with him, hoping he wouldn’t look so pitiful sitting alone and also hoping people would just leave him alone when they thought he was busy.

And it wasn’t even hard to get engrossed in the book. It was an old diary that Jeremy had lent him, after having used it for a paper. Jonathan Gilbert, one of Jeremy’s ancestors, had obviously been a raving lunatic. He wrote page upon page about vampires invading the town, killing people and wreaking havoc. Then again, according to Jeremy, Jonathan had been a writer. So maybe it wasn’t a real diary after all, but rather some sort of horror novel. It was at least interesting to read.

“No papers this time?”   
Alaric looked up in shock and noticed that Damon had sat down across from him without him even noticing. “No, I finished those yesterday.” he answered, after having recovered somewhat.   
“And what is this?” the older Salvatore wanted to know, looking at the old, leather bound journal in interest.   
“Just research. Nothing important.” Alaric shrugged, noticing with amusement that Damon had started picking fries from his plate.

He probably shouldn’t allow this, he mused. That was something you did among friends or maybe at a date. But he just couldn’t bring himself to tell Damon off. He was just too cute, batting his lashes at Ric innocently. “I can order you something, if you like.” he offered instead.   
Damon smirked. “So you won’t buy me a drink, but you’ll invite me to lunch? What does that tell me?“

“That I don’t want my students to go hungry?“ Alaric suggested.   
Damon laughed, before fixing him with that intense stare, that always made the teacher feel nervous. When Damon was looking at him like that he seemed a lot more mature than a 19-year-old. And also kind of… predatory. “Thanks, but I’m not really hungry. But I’ll take you up on the offer some other time.”   
Alaric swallowed hard, thinking back to Jenna’s warning. Weber wouldn’t like this. Damon was his student, after all. Still he heard himself answering: “Anytime.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow then, Mr. Saltzman.“ Damon murmured, giving him a smoldering look and finally getting up. Alaric watched him leave and wondered if it was just his imagination or if those words really had sounded like a dirty promise.

*****

In the following week Alaric had his first real test as a teacher. It was a day trip his predecessor had originally planned, now forcing him to visit the American civil war center in Richmond with 42 students from 2 different years. At least he had some help. Jenna and sheriff Forbes had more or less volunteered to help chaperone the kids on their trip, since the school didn’t have enough staff to send more than one teacher off for the whole day.

It all started out just as chaotic as Alaric had feared. Only about half of the students arrived at the meeting point on time, forcing the teacher to go looking for the rest of them, who were either hanging somewhere on the school grounds or still at home in bed. When he had finally herded them all to the meeting point there were some discussions about who would be taking which bus. Another 20 minutes later the teacher had ushered all of his students into the two buses, with sheriff Forbes playing chaperone in the first one, while he and Jenna took the second bus. They finally set off about an hour later than planned.

At least the drive to Richmond went rather smoothly. Alaric talked to Jenna, while he tried to ignore the noise and chaos around them and pretend that he didn’t notice Damon watching him from two seats away. He breathed a sigh of relief when they finally reached their destination and the kids left the bus, among a lot of noise and pushing each other to get out faster.

He felt grateful for sheriff Forbes presence when she helped him to restore order and they could start on the confederate years exhibition tour. A tour-guide led them through the exhibition, telling them about the civil war years and showing different artifacts from that time. The tour ended with a discussion about the main causes of the war and the ambitions of the parties involved. The teacher felt a little proud when most of the students got involved in the discussion and some of them even asked tricky questions. They had obviously been paying better attention in class than he’d thought.

Afterwards they had lunch at the cafeteria. Alaric shared a table with Jenna, Elena and Stefan and flinched slightly when Damon suddenly took a seat next to him. “You don’t mind, do you, Mr. Saltzman?” the dark-haired youth asked, blinking at him innocently.   
“Not at all.” Ric replied, forcing himself to look away from those incredible blue eyes. He noticed that not only Jenna, but also Stefan were watching them thoughtfully and was glad when they were joined by Liz Forbes, Caroline and Bonnie, who took the attention away from them for a moment.

Alaric had dreaded this trip. It was the first time he was responsible for a bunch of kids outside of school and there were quite a few things that could go terribly wrong. He hadn’t thought that lunch would be his hardest trial today. But he also hadn’t known that Damon would sit next to him. 

Under the disguise of making room for Caroline, the dark-haired youth had moved closer. Way too close. Alaric could smell his aftershave, the distinct scent of his shampoo. He shivered whenever Damon’s breath fanned over him and Damon’s leg kept touching his beneath the table with a regularity that told the teacher that Damon was doing it on purpose.

The teacher had a hard time concentrating on his conversation with Jenna and Liz and he was sure that Jenna had already seen right through him. She knew him too well. Stefan too kept stealing glances at his older brother when he wasn’t busy gazing adoringly at Elena. Ric wondered how much he could guess.

Once they’d made it through lunch the students had two hours to themselves, to look around or just relax. Alaric reminded the kids to return to the buses in exactly two hours and then watched them walking off in pairs and little groups, talking loudly and sometimes shoving each other. Jenna was busy talking to Liz about the Miss Mystic Falls contest in a few month, so the teacher used his chance to sneak away unnoticed. He wanted to take a closer look at the exhibition and he also had no desire to be questioned by Jenna.

A little while later he was standing in front of a display, looking at various uniforms, when someone stopped beside him. “I always wondered what drove so many young men to join the army. What ideals they might have believed in, to justify all the killing.” the teacher muttered thoughtfully. 

“I think a lot of them only joined the army to please their fathers. They probably had no idea what they were getting into or what they even fought for.” Damon answered.   
Alaric nodded thoughtfully. Back in that time it would’ve been all too plausible. “You might be right.” he agreed.

They turned away and strolled on, passing displays with weapons and military badges. “Why aren’t you off with friends?” Alaric asked after a while.   
Damon gave him a skeptical look. “Because I don’t have any friends. I thought you would’ve noticed by now.”   
The teacher felt at a loss for words. Yes, he had noticed that Damon seemed to be a loner. But he didn’t understand it. Why was everyone but him able to resist the dark-haired youth? Why could no-one but him see how special Damon was?

“It’s okay. I’m not good with people. Never have been. I like being on my own.“ the dark-haired boy shrugged it off.   
But Ric didn’t believe his dismissive attitude. Damon had to be lonely. Why else would he be seeking his company all the time? “What about Caroline?” he asked hesitantly. The blonde was the only one who hung out with Damon and truth be told, he didn’t quite get their relationship. 

“She’s okay. But A, I can only stand her for a certain amount of time and B, she’s off with Elena and Bonnie. And I can’t stand those two for more than 10 minutes at a time.” came the quick answer.   
“And your brother?” Alaric prodded.   
“That’s… complicated.” Damon muttered and walked on.

The teacher hesitated for a second, before following him. He stared at the display without really seeing it, too preoccupied with the boy next to him. “We were in love with the same girl once.” Damon admitted after a while. “I guess neither of us really had her, but… Doesn’t matter anymore. She… died.” he explained haltingly. 

Alaric didn’t really know what to say. “You had a fight, because of her?” he asked finally.   
“Kind of, yeah.” Damon replied with a sigh, before turning to face him. “Can we change the subject, please? You’re not exactly Mr. Popularity either, but I don’t nag you about the fact that you’re always alone at the Grill.”   
Ric had to grin at that. “Touche.”

They walked on, talking about the tour they had taken earlier. Damon was certain that their tour-guide had spared them all the more gruesome facts. Alaric had to agree. “It was still a good start. I’m afraid, most of my students associate the civil war with things like gone with the wind. You should see some of the papers I have to grade. I was pleasantly surprised at the discussion, though. You weren’t the only one asking difficult questions.” he had to admit.   
“I was surprised as well.” his student agreed. “Maybe my classmates aren’t quite as stupid as I believed them to be.“   
Ric shook his head with a smile.

Two hours were over way too soon and Alaric mentioned reluctantly that they had to head back to the busses. Jenna was already there and fixed him with a knowing look when he arrived with Damon in tow. Ric decided to ignore her for now and was soon too busy to worry about her anyways, since once again half of the students didn’t arrive on time. It took various texts and a few phone-calls to the still missing students until they could finally start the journey back, about half an hour later than planned.

As soon as the bus started, Alaric took out the book he had bought at the museum-store and pretended to be totally engrossed in it, so Jenna would leave him alone. He knew what she would tell him. And he also knew that she was right. He should stay the hell away from Damon. He should tell Damon that all they could ever be was teacher and student and that he had to stop flirting. But he also knew that he wouldn’t do it. He enjoyed Damon’s company way too much. He was just selfish like that.

When they reached the school by late afternoon, he made sure that he wasn’t alone with Jenna. He said goodbye to his students and was already in his car on the way home, before Jenna even noticed he was gone. He even managed to dodge her until Friday. But then his luck ran out and she caught him at the Grill, where he was busy drowning in Damon’s eyes. The older Salvatore had once again sat down next to him at the bar. Alaric had looked at him and been unable to look away again.

And then Jenna appeared seemingly out of nowhere and claimed to have a date with Ric. Damon pouted and stormed off, which left Alaric no choice but to follow Jenna to a quiet booth in the corner, where she gave him the long overdue talking to. “I’m only trying to look out for you.” she defended herself. “You’re still new here. A lot of people here are suspicious against strangers. Top it off with an affair with a student…”   
The teacher sighed in defeat. “I know. You’re right.”

*****

Heeding Jenna’s warning, Alaric tried his best to avoid Damon the next couple of days, which proved rather difficult. He saw him in class of course and on Tuesday they ran into each other in the parking lot after school. Damon’s flashy blue Camaro was once again parked right next to Ric’s car. 

The teacher was certain that he had parked next to the secretary’s SUV in the morning and that she was still here, but he shrugged it off. And of course he didn’t have the heart to simply greet Damon and leave. So he ended up talking to the dark-haired youth for about half an hour. On Thursday it was close to two hours. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t stay away. It was like Damon was a magnet, drawing him in. And he was all too happy to submit to the pull he felt.

***

Friday night was the annual 50th theme party at school and Alaric had to play chaperone. He dreaded going, but since he was still new to the job he just hadn’t been able to refuse. At least he had the small consolation that Jenna was there as well, having volunteered to chaperone. She had dressed up in 50th clothes and was chatting happily about the motto-parties during her school-years.

After a while she really started grating on Alaric’s nerves with her enthusiasm. He would’ve rather spent a quiet evening in front of the TV, instead of listening to Rock’n’Roll and watching his students getting drunk (because everyone knew the punch was spiked with vodka, even if no-one said it out loud) and making asses of themselves. So he was glad when Jenna met a friend and they started reminiscing old times. Next time he would just call in sick.

Damon wasn’t much better off. He had only reluctantly allowed Caroline to drag him to the party, after she had promised him that Alaric would be here as well. Now the blonde was dancing with Tyler Lockwood, her new crush, while Damon watched annoyed from the sideline. It looked like everyone but him was having a blast. 

Stefan was twirling a giggling Elena around on the dance-floor and even Elena’s weird little punk of a brother had seemingly found himself a girlfriend. And their stupid aunt Jenna was once again busy hitting on Alaric, the vampire noticed with a frown. Too bad that Elena had secretly slipped her vervaine, preventing him from compelling her to keep her paws off Ric.

To make matters even worse, Bonnie suddenly marched up to him and demanded that he leave Elena alone, threatening him in case he wouldn’t do as told. The stupid witch had obviously not noticed that he hadn’t flirted with annoying little Elena in weeks. When he had finally gotten rid of her again, Alaric had suddenly disappeared. Damon scanned the room, but there was no sign of him. Caroline was still busy with Tyler, so she wouldn’t be much of a help. With a sigh he left the gym to go looking for his favorite teacher.

The hallways were dark and completely deserted. It was quiet. Almost eerily so, once the noise of the party faded away. Damon listened for any sound that might tell him where Alaric had disappeared to and poked his head into every room he passed.

In the end he found Alaric in his classroom, sitting at the teacher’s desk and drinking bourbon straight from the bottle. “You’re missing out on the party.”   
The teacher jumped in shock and quickly hid the bottle in his desk. Only then did he realize who had caught him. “Damon.” he murmured in relief, before shooting back: “So are you.”

The vampire closed the door behind himself, strolled over and sat down on the desk in front of Ric. “I didn’t want to go to that stupid party in the first place. Caroline dragged me here.” he explained. 

“And now you dumped her.” Alaric guessed.   
“More like the other way around. She’s busy flirting with Tyler Lockwood. Probably hasn’t even noticed my absence yet. Which is fine by me.”

Damon didn’t really understand his relationship with the blonde anymore these days. It was weird enough that she’d forgiven him what he’d done to her and wanted to be his friend. But she pretty much viewed him as her big brother now. And her mother had practically adopted him as well, which was quite hilarious, considering how the sheriff felt about vampires. Even more astounding was the fact that Caroline had wormed her way into Damon’s heart as well. He really liked his surrogate little sister, even if he would never admit it out loud.

“Director Weber forced me to chaperone. I just couldn’t say no.” Alaric confessed, taking the bottle of bourbon back out after a slight hesitation and taking another deep pull. When Damon made to grab the bottle he hesitated for a second, but then let him have it. “God, I’m every parent’ s worst nightmare. The chaperone teacher from hell.” Ric murmured resigned. 

“But your students love you.” Damon claimed with a smirk.   
“Do they?” the teacher asked quietly, with a strange undertone to his voice.   
Their eyes met and they both knew what he was really asking. Just like they both knew that Damon was only talking about himself when he whispered: “They do.”

Alaric tore his eyes away from Damon with some difficulty and hid the bourbon in his desk again. “We should go back to the party.” he muttered a little awkwardly. What they were doing here was dangerous. Hadn’t he sworn to himself that he would stay away from Damon? That he wouldn’t encourage his flirting anymore? He got up and turned back to the dark-haired youth. But Damon had just gotten up as well and now they were suddenly face to face, simply staring at each other for a moment. Later Damon couldn’t tell who moved first.

He only knew that all of a sudden Alaric’s lips covered his. And the kiss was neither hesitant nor chaste. Without thinking about it he wrapped his arms around Ric’s neck, pulling him in. The teacher’s hands skimmed over his body, finally coming to rest on his hips. The whole tension that had built over the last weeks seemed to explode in that one kiss. Both lost track of time. Had no idea how long they stood there, pressed against each other with their lips locked, until a noise out in the hallway made them jump apart.

Alaric let go of Damon reluctantly and took a step back. Not a second too soon, because suddenly the door opened and Miss Hilden poked her head into the room. The grumpy old math teacher was the only chaperone who hadn’t dressed up for the party. She was wearing the same boring grey pants and stiff white blouse she always wore.

“What are you doing here?” she asked accusingly and Ric had a hard time trying not to squirm under her gaze. He really understood why all the students hated this woman.   
“I felt a little sick and wanted to get out of the noise. Mr. Saltzman accompanied me.” Damon lied without missing a beat.   
“Why didn’t you take the boy out to the parking lot then, to get some fresh air?” Miss Hilden prodded, completely ignoring the dark-haired youth, who rolled his eyes in response.   
“I was feeling a little dizzy and wanted to sit down.” he explained.

He would have loved to just compel that stupid woman to leave them alone. Or go drown herself in the lake for that matter. But he couldn’t do that while Alaric was here. So he just told her that he was already feeling better, but he would go home anyways.   
“You do that, Mr. Salvatore. And you will return to the party, Mr. Saltzman. And next time you better tell someone when you take a student outside.” Miss Hilden ordered in a tone that left no room for arguments.   
Alaric simply nodded and went back to the party, so Damon had no choice but to head for the parking lot.

He sent a quick text to Caroline, letting her know that he was leaving, before slumping down in the driver seat of his car, where he angrily punched the steering wheel. Damn it! Finally, finally he and Alaric had gotten closer and then that stupid bitch had to show up and interrupt. It just wasn’t fair! What had he done to deserve this?

Slowly calming down again he started the car and drove off. At least the kiss had been a start, he told himself. A really good start. He still felt a tingling through his whole body just from remembering how Ric’s lips had felt on his. How Ric’s hands had felt on his body. It could only get better from here. Of that he was sure. They would take it a lot further next time. But Miss Hilden would soon be having a little accident nonetheless.

*****

Alaric spent Saturday morning sitting on his couch, contemplating things. As much as he tried, he just couldn’t get the kiss with Damon out of his head. He couldn’t stop thinking about Damon. From the very first second on he had felt drawn to the dark-haired youth. Had enjoyed talking to him, subtly flirting with him. Even if he knew it was wrong.

Jenna had invited him over for lunch, but he had told her some dumb excuse and promised to come by another time, knowing full well that she had seen right through him. She had been giving him knowing looks all throughout the party last night, after Miss Hilden had ushered him back to his post and he was pretty sure it hadn’t just been because she could smell the alcohol in his breath.

So when someone knocked on his door early in the afternoon he was sure it would be Jenna, coming to demand answers. Deciding to just get it over with he went to open the door and was shocked to find Damon there instead.

“That’s a really bad idea.” the teacher groaned.   
But the older Salvatore just smiled. “No, it’s not. It’s a great idea. Can I come in?“   
Alaric hesitated. But as always when it concerned Damon, his rational mind shut off and feeling took over. “Okay, come in.” he said with a sigh, stepping aside. 

Damon grinned and walked past him. Alaric cast a glance out the door, before quickly closing it. “Don’t worry. Nobody saw me.” Damon assured. He had already taken off his jacket and was now sitting down on the couch without waiting for an invitation.   
“You shouldn’t be here.” Alaric mumbled, sitting down next to him. “What happened last night…”

“Don’t say it was a mistake.” Damon interrupted him.   
“But it was a mistake. You’re my student, Damon. People could interpret it as abuse of charges. That could cost me my job.” the teacher explained.   
“Bullshit. I’m nineteen. I’m no child.“ the dark-haired boy shot back defiantly.   
“Doesn’t matter. You’re still my student.” Ric insisted.

Damon moved closer and fixed him with a pleading stare. “So what? Can’t you just forget that for a moment? Why do you make this so complicated? You want me. I want you. That’s all that matters.“ he whispered and Alaric’s determination was wavering, looking into those beautiful blue eyes. Yes, he wanted Damon. More than anything else. But Jenna had warned him more than once.   
“Director Weber will not forget that fact. He doesn’t take this lightly.“ he muttered helplessly.

“I’ll only be your student for a couple of months more. And I can be very discreet.” Damon claimed.   
Alaric snorted. “This is a small town, Damon. People gossip and are nosy. Especially my neighbors. Quite aside from the fact that everyone here knows you. You can’t be that discreet.”   
But Damon didn’t back down. „No-one will notice. I promise you won’t lose your job.“ 

It was a completely stupid promise. One he would never be able to keep. But Ric was running out of excuses. He wanted this. Wanted Damon. Why shouldn’t they at least try? What was the worst that could happen? He would lose his job. So what? He would also find a new one. For the first time since his spectacularly failed marriage he felt close to someone again. And that was more important than any job, wasn’t it?

“Fuck, I must be losing my mind.” he sighed, smiling ruefully. And before Damon could utter a reply, Alaric silenced him with a kiss.

***

Damon managed to hold his promise after all. Against all odds and despite the fact that they weren’t always discreet, their relationship stayed secret over the next couple of weeks. Alaric’s neighbors, who had practically been stalking him when he’d first moved here, suddenly lost all interest in him. The other teachers didn’t bat an eyelash when Damon spent his breaks in Alaric’s classroom and Damon’s uncle didn’t seem to care where his nephew was all day and if he came home in the evening. 

As far as Alaric knew, aside from Caroline (who noticed everything, according to Damon, but could keep her mouth shut if necessary) only Jenna knew about them. Ric hadn’t told her. She had simply known. Had told him to his face: “You’re grinning like an idiot since two days, which can only mean one thing: You had sex with Damon Salvatore.” 

Okay, he had come to appreciate Jenna’s brutal honesty, but those words had shocked him and it had taken about a minute for him to find his voice again. Then he had quietly explained that he and Damon were together now. Jenna had taken it surprisingly well, considering how often she had warned him in the past. She had merely shrugged and said that it was his job he was putting on the line. She had also promised to keep her mouth shut, but warned him that she wouldn’t lie or be his alibi if things went south. Fine by him. He wouldn’t ask her to.

All in all it went a lot better than expected, even if things weren’t always easy. He couldn’t simply go on a date with Damon, because there was always the danger of someone seeing them together and drawing the right conclusions. So they spent most of their time in Ric’s flat. They cooked or ordered pizza, cuddled on the couch watching TV, had endless discussions or sometimes spent half the day in bed. A few times they had met “quite accidently” at the Grill and once they had met just as “accidently” at the cinema and ended up sitting next to each other.

Alaric hated the secrecy, but he knew that it was worth it. And they only had a few more month to go. Once Damon graduated they could make their relationship public. There would still be gossip, of course. They were both men and Ric was a few years older than Damon. But at least there would be no consequences for the teacher.

Although some days he was ready to say fuck the consequences. He couldn’t understand why he had pushed Damon away for so long. Why he hadn’t given in to what he really wanted sooner. Because this relationship was the best thing that had happened to him in years. He felt alive again. After the divorce and even before he and Isobel had split up, his life had been empty. Now Damon had filled this emptiness and Alaric couldn’t remember ever being this happy.

Damon felt the same way. After Katherine’s death and the fight with Stefan, that had ended in them not speaking for almost a decade, he had felt lost. He’d been restless and always searching for something he couldn’t name. Now he had found Alaric and he finally felt like he belonged.

There was only one thing that was troubling him. While they knew a lot about each other, trusted each other and were very close, he still hadn’t dared to tell Alaric his secret. He was too scared to admit that he was a vampire. Really had no idea how Alaric would react to this confession. He was scared Ric might leave him. He knew that he was only postponing the inevitable. Sooner or later he would have to tell his boyfriend the truth. But he didn’t know where to start or what to say. 

And in the end the decision was taken away from him…

*****

It was Saturday afternoon and Damon was sitting alone at home. Alaric was having tea with Jenna Sommers. Something Damon didn’t like at all, but had come to accept. He tried his best to keep his jealousy in check, since Ric had assured him countless times that he and Jenna were only friends. “Strictly platonic. It’s more of a brother-sister-relationship. Like you and Caroline.” he had said and Damon had dropped the subject with a roll of his eyes. He somehow didn’t think that Jenna was interrogating Ric about their love-life all the time, like Caroline was doing with him. That girl was just too nosy.

Almost as if she knew he was thinking of her, Caroline chose that moment to call him. Damon glanced at his phone and contemplated ignoring her. He really had no desire to play 20 questions with her right now. But on the other hand he knew how stubborn she could be. 

“If you’re calling to ask for my help in picking out a dress for your next date with Lockwood again, I swear I’ll hang up. Ask Elena.” he grumbled by way of greeting. When Caroline answered with a sniffle his anger turned to worry. “Barbie? What’s wrong?”

“I… I didn’t mean to. It just.. she was… it was an accident. You have to help me, Damon.”   
The older Salvatore didn’t really understand her stammering, but he was on his feet immediately. “Where are you?” he asked in concern. She wasn’t one to cry over nothing.   
“At the new park. Over… near the edge of.. of the forest.“ Caroline sobbed.   
“Are you in danger?“ Damon prodded.   
“No.“   
He breathed a small sigh of relief. “Okay, stay where you are. I’m on my way.“ he promised, hanging up and rushing out of the house.

Barely ten minutes later he reached the park and hurried to the place she had told him. Caroline threw herself into his arms, sobbing and telling him over and over she hadn’t meant to do it. He didn’t have to ask what she was talking about. There was a dead girl lying on the ground a few feet away. The blood staining Caroline’s clothes and her lips told the rest of the story. Damon soothingly stroked her back and tried to calm her down. “It’s okay. It happens. Don’t worry, it’ll all be fine.” he promised, while he allowed her to cry into his shoulder.

It took a few minutes to calm the blonde, but finally she pulled away from him. “Okay, what happened?” Damon wanted to know.   
She sniffled and started talking haltingly: “Amy hit on Tyler. Again. She’s always flirting with him, but she knows he’s my boyfriend now. So.. I wanted to … talk to her. Maybe compel her, I guess.” she admitted sheepishly. 

“But then.. she was so mean, Damon. She said that… that I’m a … worthless whore and I … would cheat on Tyler with you. And she said… Tyler… Tyler only wanted to .. to fuck me and then he’d leave me. Because… that’s all I’m good for. Because no-one… loves me. Not even my parents.“ Her voice faded away into another sob.   
Damon knew that Amy hat hit Caroline where it hurt the worst. The blonde was always afraid of not being good enough.

“You got mad and fed on her.” he concluded.   
“And then I couldn’t stop. Only when it was too late.“ she whispered, sniffling again.   
“Hey, it happens. You’re still young and control is hard. File it away as a mistake and forget about it.“ the older vampire advised. 

“Forget about it? I killed someone, Damon. I can’t just forget about it.“ Caroline protested, fresh tears running down her cheeks.   
“You can and you will. Beating yourself up about it won’t help. I know it fucking hurts, but you have to accept that it happened and try to do better next time. You can’t change it now. And if it’s any consolation, I don’t think anyone will miss Amy.”

“Damon! Don’t say that.” she chided, sounding more indignant than despaired, which he took as a good sign.   
Still he rolled his eyes and was about to retort, when a new voice chimed in. An all too familiar voice. 

“Damon, what are you… Oh my god, Caroline! Is that blood? What happened? Are you hurt? Is.. is that Amy? Is she….?“   
The dark-haired vampire was too shocked to move for a second. What the hell was Alaric doing here? Where had he suddenly come from? Had Damon been so fixed on Caroline that he hadn’t heard his boyfriend coming closer?

The teacher had fallen to his knees beside Amy and was touching her neck. “I can’t feel her pulse. Did you call an ambulance? It… oh my god, it looks like something .. bit her. What happened here?”   
He looked up at the vampires in shock and Damon swallowed hard. He knew that he had to calm down and take care of the situation. No matter how much he hated it.   
“Caroline, go home. Get changed and get rid of those clothes. I’ve got this.“ he ordered, wondering absently how calm he sounded. The blonde nodded and took off.

Damon sighed and turned to Alaric, hating what he was about to do. But he had no choice. There was no time for explanations.   
“Damon, damn it. Tell me what’s going on here.” the teacher ordered, getting up again.   
The vampire took a deep breath and looked into his eyes. “Go home, Ric. Forget what you saw here. It never happened.“ he ordered, turning away quickly. The knowledge that he had just compelled his boyfriend made him sick.

“Are you nuts? I won’t leave without an explanation. What the fuck, Damon? You may be able to order Caroline around, but not me. I demand an explanation. Now!” 

Damon whirled back around, staring at Alaric in shock. The compulsion hadn’t worked. Which could only mean someone had slipped Alaric vervaine. And that meant, Damon was in trouble.   
“I’m waiting, Damon. Tell me.“ Alaric ground out, slowly getting angry.   
The vampire just stared at him, his mind racing, looking for a way out of this. There was none. He had to tell Ric the truth.

Hesitantly he took a step towards his boyfriend. “I will explain everything. I promise. But first I.. I need to get rid of the body.“ he admitted.   
The teacher stumbled back in shock. “What? But you can’t…“ he protested, only to be cut off by Damon.   
“I have to. My life is in danger if I don’t do it. Caroline’s and Stefan’s lives as well. I know, I’m asking a lot here, but… you need to trust me, Ric. Please. Do you trust me?” 

Alaric seemed at war with himself. His eyes traveled from Damon to Amy’s lifeless body and back again. In the end he nodded.   
Damon breathed a sigh of relief. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.“

He picked up the body and ran into the forest, before Alaric had a chance to protest. Far from the official path was an old, dried up well. He dropped her in there, hoping no-one would find her. Because if they found her, sheriff Forbes would know that she’d been killed by a vampire and they would be hunted again. He couldn’t risk that.

When he returned to the park Alaric hadn’t moved. He was looking around himself nervously, shifting his weight. He jumped when Damon reappeared. “What did you…?” he asked, but the vampire shook his head.   
“Not here. What I will tell you isn’t meant for other ears. I mean it, Ric. You can’t tell anyone. Can we .. go to your place?“   
Once again the teacher hesitated, but in the end he gave in with a weary sigh. “Okay. My car is at the parking lot. Come on.“

***

They drove to Alaric’s loft in stony silence. Damon was staring out of the window, trying to find the right words. But when he finally sat down on Ric’s couch he still didn’t know where to start or what to say. Ric was pacing in front of him, heightening his nervousness.   
“Did I just help you to hush up a murder?” the teacher asked suddenly.   
Damon bit his lip, shrugged, nodded vaguely.   
“Did you…?” Alaric stopped, not daring to voice the question. It was unimaginable. Damon could never kill someone. He just couldn’t.

“Caroline lost control and… killed Amy.“ Damon explained quietly.   
Alaric gasped in shock. “She killed…“ 

“She fed from her.“ Damon interrupted. “Caroline is a vampire. My fault, kinda. I turned her. Not on purpose, but…“ Damn, he was babbling and Ric was looking at him like he’d gone mad. He really wasn’t making much sense here and he hadn’t even meant to say that. So deep breath and try again:

“I know I should have told you ages ago. I just didn’t know how. I’m a vampire, Ric. Just like Caroline and Stefan.” Okay, that was better. More coherent. But the teacher still seemed to question his sanity. 

“You.. Fuck, you initiated all that, didn’t you? You’re pulling my leg.“ He asked hesitantly. He didn’t seem to believe it himself. After all he knew that Amy was dead. He was just grasping at straws here. 

Damon had no idea what to say. He couldn’t find the right words. Didn’t know how to make the teacher understand. So maybe it was time for a little demonstration. With a sigh he allowed his face to change, felt the dark capillaries beneath his eyes appearing, his fangs breaking through. Alaric gave a little shout of surprise, stumbled backwards and fell into a chair. When Damon got up and took a step towards him he flinched away, despite the fact that the vampire’s face had changed back to human form.

Damon tried not to let on how much that reaction hurt. “I’m sorry, Ric. I wanted to tell you in a quiet moment. Not like this.“   
The teacher shook his head in disbelief. It couldn’t be true. Vampires didn’t exist in reality. The beautiful young man he had fallen head over heels for couldn’t be a monster. He just couldn’t. 

He thought back to the scene at the park. Amy, dead and pale on the ground. Blood splattered on Caroline’s clothes. Smeared over her lips. It was a nightmare. “You… you kill people.“ he stammered, unable to look at Damon. How could such a monster be so beautiful? So sweet and charming?

“No, we don’t. We don’t have to kill. I steal blood-bags for myself and Caroline. Stefan only drinks animal blood.” the vampire protested.   
“I saw Amy’s body.“ Alaric reminded angrily. 

“It was an accident. Caroline didn’t mean to hurt her. Amy provoked her and.. as a vampire everything is heightened. You can’t even imagine, Ric. You feel everything so much more intense. She’s still so young. She lost control and she’s devastated because of what she’s done.” 

Ric snorted in disgust. “What did you do with the body?” he wanted to know and Damon had never heard his voice sound so cold and distant.   
“I dropped her into an old, dried up well. Hidden in the forest.” the vampire admitted quietly, flinching when Ric gave him a disgusted look, before turning away again.

“I had no choice. If they find her… sheriff Forbes would know that it was a vampire. She knows about vampires. All the founding families know. If they find out what I am, they will kill me. Without asking questions. And they will kill Caroline and my brother. I had to protect us.” the vampire tried to explain. 

He sank to his knees next to Ric’s chair, tried to ignore the way the teacher shied away from his touch. “Ric, please. They will kill me. You can’t tell anyone. Please.“ he begged. Finally Alaric looked at him, his expression unreadable. “This doesn’t change things between us, Ric. I’m still the same guy I was yesterday.” Damon whispered. 

“I don’t know who you are anymore. I don’t know what to believe. The Damon I thought I knew could never kill somebody or hide the body of a killer’s victim.”

The vampire flinched at the accusation. Yes, he had killed. He had killed more than once. But how should he explain this to Alaric? How could he explain how easy it was to lose control? That there was a switch, that turned off a vampire’s feelings? He would never understand. 

“Okay, so my past is a lot more complex and .. dark than you thought, but that still doesn’t change what’s between us. I would never hurt you, Ric. I love you.”   
It was the first time he had said it and a small smile flitted over Ric’s lips at the admission. He looked at the vampire thoughtfully and silently for a long while.   
Finally he touched Damon’s cheek with trembling fingertips. “I won’t tell anyone. Don’t worry. But.. I need time. I need to come to terms with all this. So please, just … give me time.” he whispered.

Damon swallowed against the giant lump in his throat and forced himself to nod. At least Ric hadn’t broken up with him right away. And he would keep his secret. He couldn’t ask for more. “Okay. I’ll just.. go then.“ he mumbled. Alaric nodded and turned away. The vampire walked to the door slowly, looking back once he reached it, but Ric didn’t meet his eyes. So he just left.

*****

After Damon had left Alaric sat there for a long time, staring into space. A thousand thoughts were racing through his head and suddenly nothing made sense anymore. Vampires were fantasy creatures. Mythical creatures from books and horror movies, that had no place in the real world.

And yet Damon was a vampire. It was absurd. But Alaric had seen the fangs. Those horrible, dark veins and the red-black of his eyes. How could he seem so normal? So human? And which was the real Damon? The beautiful young man with those incredible blue eyes and the smile that made Alaric’s knees go weak? Or the bloodthirsty monster with those red-black eyes and sharp fangs?

He thought back to the diary Jeremy Gilbert had lent him all those weeks ago. The diary of Jonathan Gilbert. So it hadn’t been a horror novel after all. And Jonathan hadn’t been a madman either. There had been vampires in Mystic Falls back then. And there were still vampires now. They lived here like normal people. They even went to school and forgot their homework like every other teenager.

He also thought back to the last few weeks and all the time he had spent with Damon. How they had cooked dinner together, cuddled on the couch in front of his TV or made love in his bed. He remembered Damon’s cute sleepy expression early in the morning, his devilish smirk, the look in his eyes, when he was planning something, his contagious laughter. The sincerity in his voice, when he had confessed his love for Alaric. It couldn’t have been an act. It simply couldn’t. What they had was real. Of that at least he was sure.

But could he just go on like nothing had happened, now that he knew the truth? Could he love a vampire? Could he accept that Damon was simply both – man and monster? Would he ever dare to ask all those question that were running through his mind right now? Questions like how old was Damon really? How many people had he killed? Were some of those stupid vampire myth really true? And most importantly: Would he even want to know?

***

Damon spent the rest of Saturday sitting depressed in his room, waiting in vain for a word from Alaric. On Sunday afternoon he had finally left his hiding place and taken a seat in the library when Caroline showed up. 

“I got rid of the body, don’t worry.” he greeted her.   
The blonde sat down next to him. “Thanks. And… what happened with Alaric?“ she asked hesitantly.   
Damon stared unseeing into the flames of the fireplace, while he told her about trying to compel his boyfriend. 

“Alaric takes vervaine?” she exclaimed in surprise.   
“Looks like it.” Damon didn’t understand it himself. Ric hadn’t known about vampires. “I guess Stefan slipped him some.“ It was the only possible explanation and he wouldn’t put it past his little brother. Maybe Stefan had noticed that there was something going on between him and Ric.

“He drinks Jenna’s tea, when he’s visiting her. It contains vervaine.” Stefan chimed in. He had just arrived with Elena in tow and obviously heard what they were saying. Now he wanted to know why they were talking about Alaric.   
“He saw something he shouldn’t have seen and Damon couldn’t compel him.” Caroline told them all too readily and Damon felt the sudden urge to strangle her. It was none of Stefan’s business. And like expected he now had to listen to accusations and stupid questions.

“What did you do to him, Damon? I swear, if you hurt him in any way…” Elena threatened.   
“Then what? What are you little girl going to do, huh?” the older Salvatore snarked.   
“He would never hurt Alaric.” Caroline intervened, giving Damon a pointed look. She had been nagging him for days, insisting that he should tell Stefan about his relationship with the teacher. Okay, he and Stefan got along a little better lately – probably because Damon had stopped flirting with Elena – but that didn’t mean all was well. Stefan still didn’t trust him.

And he proved it again by saying: “I’m afraid, you think too high of my brother, Caroline. You of all people should know what he’s capable of.”   
Damon snorted in disgust, but the blonde didn’t back down. She poked him in the ribs and hissed: “Will you finally tell them!”   
The dark-haired vampire glanced at her. “Why should I? Doesn’t matter anyways. It’s over.“ He muttered dejectedly. Great, now she was looking at him with pity in her eyes.   
“What happened? Come on, tell me.“

Damon didn’t want to talk about it. He didn’t even want to think about it. He wanted to pretend not to care. But he couldn’t. The fear of losing Alaric was too great. It hurt way too much. And Caroline had always had the strange talent of making him talk. 

“I told him. Told him everything. And he … he sent me away. He was afraid of me, Care.” he whispered.   
“What did he say exactly?“ the blonde prodded.   
“That he won’t tell anyone. And that he needs time.“ he repeated Alaric’s words.   
“Doesn’t sound so bad. It’s a lot to take in. Of course he needs time to process it.“ Caroline replied. 

“I told him that I love him.” Damon admitted. “And he was only staring at me. And then he said he needs time.“

Only when he heard Stefan’s shocked gasp did he remember that his brother and Elena were still there. He’d completely forgotten about them and now inwardly cursed himself for saying too much. “Damon and Alaric have been dating for a couple of weeks now.” Caroline told them matter of factly, before turning her attention back on Damon. “You probably just surprised him. He didn’t break up with you, did he? Don’t give up hope now. You’re perfect for each other.“ Damon only grumbled in reply and continued staring into the flames.

“What did he see? That he shouldn’t have, I mean.” Stefan spoke up after a long silence. He didn’t want to think about the fact that his brother had a secret relationship with a teacher and he hadn’t noticed. Of course he had noticed that Damon seemed in a much better mood lately. That he went out a lot and didn’t flirt with Elena anymore. The brunette had even voiced the possibility that he might be in love and Stefan had thought about it, too. But with a man? And a teacher on top of that? Since when was Damon suddenly gay? It just didn’t make sense. Although it did explain why he was suddenly such a good student.

“I had to get rid of a corpse.” the older Salvatore said with a shrug, shaking Stefan from his thoughts.   
“You what? Damon how could you? I don’t get you. I really thought you might be changing for the better lately and now you killed someone again. You’re disgusting!” he shouted.   
To his horror, it was Caroline who replied. “He didn’t kill anyone. It was all my fault. He was only there to help me. Because I… lost control and… and I killed Amy.“ the blonde admitted.   
“And the thing about losing control is something you get quite well, don’t you brother?” Damon sneered.

Stefan actually blushed at this. Yes, he knew all about losing control. Elena chimed in then, asking about Amy.   
“I got rid of the body. It’s well hidden.“ Damon assured.   
“You did.. but that’s cruel, Damon. Did you even stop to think of her friends? Her family? They’re going to miss her. They’re going to search for her and they’ll never learn the truth.” Elena protested. 

“Did you ever stop to think of your friends?” the vampire mocked. “If they find her body, Caroline’s mom will know that it was a vampire who killed her. And then the council will hunt us again. Do you want that?” That made Elena shut up real quick.   
“He’s right, Elena. He had no choice.“ Caroline whispered and even Stefan nodded in agreement. The brunette looked away, admitting that she hadn’t considered that.

The whole group fell silent for a while, each of them lost in own thoughts, unsure of what to say. Finally Elena remembered that Caroline and her were supposed to meet Bonnie at the Grill. The blonde hugged Damon and told him not to give up hope. “It’ll turn out alright. You’ll see. You’re meant for each other.” she promised, before following Elena, leaving the Salvatore brothers to themselves.

“Since when…?” Stefan muttered hesitantly.   
Damon sighed. “Since our first meeting, I guess. We’ve been secretly dating for about five weeks now. Ric was worried, because I’m his student and it could cost him his job. You wouldn’t believe how many people I had to compel to keep our little secret.” the older one said surprisingly honest. 

His brother looked at him in surprise, not having expected that much honesty. “I actually meant since when do you… like men?” he clarified.   
“Oh, that. I think I realized that I’m bisexual when I was 16. Of course it wasn’t called bisexual back then. Anyways… I had a little crush on Thomas Fell, so…” Damon said with a shrug, smiling slightly.

Stefan was totally taken aback by his words. So his brother had always been bisexual and he had never known. “That long? But you never said anything.”   
Damon rolled his eyes. “So you could’ve run to dad to rat me out? Thanks, didn’t feel like getting beaten up.” The accusation hurt, even if it was justified. Stefan had always told their father everything and he’d gotten Damon in trouble by doing so more than once. 

“But later…”   
“We were at each other’s throats the whole time, thanks to Katherine. We haven’t exactly had many heart-to-hearts over the last few decades, did we?” the older one interrupted him.   
“Right.” Stefan had to admit. For over a hundred years he had believed his brother to be a self-centered, evil monster, unable to change. But maybe it wasn’t too late. Maybe there was still hope for Damon after all.

He was still searching for a way to put this into words without angering Damon when the doorbell rang. Since Zach was off somewhere and Damon made no move to get up, Stefan went to open the door. Despite everything he had learned over the last two hours he was surprised to see Alaric. 

“Hey, Stefan. Ahh… I need to talk to your brother. Is he there?“ the teacher asked, fidgeting nervously.   
Stefan just stared at him for a moment, making him fidget even more, until the younger Salvatore finally found his manners and asked him inside.

Of course Damon had recognized Alaric’s voice and had gotten up. Now he took a few hesitant steps towards the teacher. The hopeful look on his face nearly broke Stefan’s heart. Damon was really, totally in love. There was no doubt about it. And suddenly Stefan hoped with everything he had that it would work out for them. If Alaric had managed to encourage such a dramatic change in his brother in just a few weeks, how much could he do in month or even years? Maybe Damon would turn back into the sweet and caring man he had been before Katherine had turned them. Maybe Stefan would get his big brother back.

“Can we talk?“ Alaric asked cautiously.   
“Yeah, sure. Do… do you want to come upstairs? To my room?”   
The teacher risked a quick glance at Stefan, obviously wondering how much the younger Salvatore knew. Then he agreed and Damon started to hope that maybe Caroline had been right and everything would work out in the end. At least Alaric was here and he wasn’t afraid of being alone with him.   
“This way.” the vampire muttered, leading the way. When he glanced back at his brother he saw Stefan smiling encouragingly. Another step in the right direction.

Once inside his room he sat down on the bed, watching nervously while Alaric looked around. He had no idea if the teacher was truly curious or simply trying to stall. Eventually Ric stopped directly in front of him. “I did a lot of thinking.” he let the vampire know. “And I’m still having a hard time trying to wrap my mind around… all of it, I guess. It’s crazy. When I woke up this morning, for a second I thought it had been a really weird nightmare.” He looked away, let his gaze travel through the room, searching for words. Damon shifted nervously on the bed.

“I have tons of questions, but I don’t even know if I want to have them answered or not. I don’t know if we can make this work. If I can cope with you being a.. vampire.” he admitted.   
“Ric…“ Damon started to protest, but Ric cut him off.   
“There’s only one thing I know for sure. I’ve been happier these past five weeks than in the last couple of years.“ Finally he looked at the vampire again.   
“And… what does that mean for us?” Damon asked softly, still feeling unsure.   
Ric sat down next to him, smiling gently. “That I want to at least try and see where it goes. Because… I love you too, Damon.”

For a moment Damon could only stare at him, utterly speechless. Then he practically pounced on Alaric, kissing him almost desperately, glad when the teacher kissed him back just as enthusiastically and didn’t shy away from his touch.   
“I will tell you everything you want to know.” he promised, once their lips had parted. 

Ric lay back on the bed and pulled the vampire into his arms. “I’ll ask when or if I feel ready to hear the answers, okay? When I think I can cope with it. For now it’s enough to know that you’re not hurting or… killing anyone.”   
Damon cuddled against him with a smile. “I won’t hurt anyone. Never again. Promise.“ As long as he had Alaric at his side he had no reason to kill out of spite or anger.

“Your brother will start wondering what we’re doing up here, won’t he?” the teacher asked after a while. “No, don’t worry. Stefan knows. I told him about us earlier. And he’ll keep his mouth shut, if he knows what’s good for him.“ Damon growled. 

Down in the library Stefan chuckled, knowing full well that those last words were intended for him. “I’m happy for you, brother. And I won’t tell anyone.” he answered, before grabbing his phone and sending a quick text to Caroline and Elena. He owed Alaric, he really did. Maybe he would even thank the teacher one day, when he could look him in the eyes again without blushing. For now he decided to go out and give the two lovebirds a little privacy. Judging by the sounds coming from upstairs they would need it.


End file.
